Ludwig Gustav Adolf von Estorff (25 December 1859 – 5 October 1943) was a German military officer who notably served as a

Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...

commander in Africa; and later as an Imperial German Army general in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He also was a recipient of the

Pour le Merite Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Irania ...

, Germany's highest military award.

Early life and career

Ludwig was the second child of later Generalmajor Eggert Ludwig von Estorff (1831–1903) and his wife Julie Bernhardine, née von Witzendorff (1836–1902). In 1878, after being a cadet in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Estorff was commissioned into the Prussian Army as a Lieutenant in the 31st (1st Thuringian) Infantry Regiment. In 1894, by now a

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

, he left the army in order to join the

Schutztruppe of German South West Africa The Imperial Schutztruppe for German South west Africa (german: Kaiserliche Schutztruppe für Deutsch-Südwestafrika) was the official name of the military formation that maintained the German Empire in its colony of German South West Africa. The S ...

. There he'd quickly see service in the First Witbooi Rebellion. After five years he briefly returned to Germany, then resumed service on various stations on the African continent.

Herero Wars

He resigned in 1903 but rejoined the Schutztruppe in the next year to fight in the

Herero Wars The Herero Wars were a series of colonial wars between the German Empire and the Herero people of German South West Africa (present-day Namibia). They took place between 1904 and 1908. Background Pre-colonial South-West Africa The Hereros we ...

as battalion and regimental commander.Schnee, p. 587 At the

Battle of Waterberg The Battle of Waterberg (Battle of Ohamakari) took place on August 11, 1904 at the Waterberg, German South West Africa (modern day Namibia), and was the decisive battle in the German campaign against the Herero. Armies The German Imperial For ...

he led a column, and afterwards was ordered to pursue the fleeing Hereros through the scarce Omaheke Desert. Estorff was highly critical of commanding General

Lothar von Trotha General Adrian Dietrich Lothar von Trotha (3 July 1848 – 31 March 1920) was a German military commander during the European new colonial era. As a brigade commander of the East Asian Expedition Corps, he was involved in suppressing the Boxe ...

and his decisions, on both strategical and ethical reasons, which deliberately resulted in the

Herero and Namaqua genocide The Herero and Namaqua genocide or the Herero and Nama genocide was a campaign of ethnic extermination and collective punishment waged by the German Empire against the Herero (Ovaherero) and the Nama in German South West Africa (now Namibia). I ...

. He nonetheless followed his orders; thus having a part in the same. In early 1907 he was made commander of the Schutztruppe of German South West Africa. He immediately closed the dreaded

Shark Island concentration camp Shark Island or "Death Island" was one of five concentration camps in German South West Africa. It was located on Shark Island off Lüderitz, in the far south-west of the territory which today is Namibia. It was used by the German Empire during ...

, against local political wishes, and relocated the remaining Nama people to the mainland. Estorff would remain on his post until he finally left for Germany in 1911. Estorff's diaries, reports and correspondence about his time in Africa would eventually be collected and published posthumously. Now, as an

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

in the Imperial German Army, he commanded the 92nd (Brunswick) Infantry Regiment.

World War I

When

began Generalmajor Estorff led a brigade in France and was once more wounded when a bullet shattered his knee. He returned to duty in 1915 and was made commander of the 103rd Infantry Division, leading it into the

Serbian campaign The Serbian campaign was a series of military expeditions launched in 1914 and 1915 by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Serbia during the First World War. The first campaign began after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 J ...

. In 1916 he commanded the 42nd Infantry Division on the Eastern Front, first in Romania and then further north. For his services in the latter campaign Estorff received the

, Germany's highest military award. With his division being part of the famed Eighth Army, he led the landing forces during

Operation Albion Operation Albion was a World War I German air, land and naval operation against the Russian forces in October 1917 to occupy the West Estonian Archipelago. The land campaign opened with German landings at the Tagalaht bay on the island of ...

, the successful amphibious operation to occupy the

West Estonian archipelago West Estonian archipelago ( et, Lääne-Eesti saarestik, also Moonsund archipelago) is a group of Estonian islands located in the Baltic Sea around Väinameri. The total area is about . The archipelago is composed of the islands Saaremaa, Hiiu ...

. In March 1918 he took over command of the 60th Corps. In the final days of the war he was acting commander of the Eighth Army.

Later life

After the war had ended he served as final commander of the prestigious

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

and military governor of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

throughout 1919. He was retained in the much-reduced

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

and served simultaneously as commander of a brigade,

military district Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...

and general command. During the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo th ...

he announced his support of the new putschist government. When the coup failed and the legitimate

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

government restored he accordingly was dismissed. He saw no further service but in 1939, in the wave of brevet promotions to commemorate the

Battle of Tannenberg The Battle of Tannenberg, also known as the Second Battle of Tannenberg, was fought between Russia and Germany between 26 and 30 August 1914, the first month of World War I. The battle resulted in the almost complete destruction of the Russ ...

, he was given the character of a General der Infanterie. Estorff died at

Uelzen Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', , Low German ''Ülz’n'') is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a ...

on 5 October 1943.

Posthumously published writings

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estorff, Ludwig 1859 births 1943 deaths Herero and Namaqua genocide perpetrators German Army generals of World War I Lieutenant generals of Prussia Military personnel from Hanover People from the Kingdom of Hanover Lieutenant generals of the Reichswehr Schutztruppe personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)